A Romantic Conundrum
by The Green Maiden
Summary: Remus has a problem. James and Sirius think they've figured it out, but will the Marauders' plan lead to an even bigger problem?Warning this is a slash fic. I make no apologies for this.
1. A problem called Remus

James sighed, laying down his quill.

"Moony?" he asked impatiently, waving a hand in front of his Remus' face. "Pay attention!"

Remus blinked suddenly, and his eyes lost the unfocused look they'd had for the past five minutes.

"…what? What is it?" he asked, sounding slightly dazed.

James waved the piece of parchment he'd been scribbling on in front of his friend's nose.

"Finished! And, seriously, why are you even bothering to do this if you're going to sit and dream into space?" He grinned fiendishly. "Who is it, hmm? Mildred Blaine, that speccy bookworm you sit behind in Potions?

Remus blushed hotly, snatching the parchment that was being dangled in front of him.

"For your information, Prongs, this was your bloody idea in the first place. You were failing Transfiguration, remember?"

He straightened out the crumpled, blot-ridden parchment and gave a short cry of disbelief.

"Were you even listening to me?" he asked incredulously. "Have you completely forgotten everything we've learned in the last five years?" Letting it drop, he sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Prongs, some of these spells don't even exist. Hell, some of these words don't exist! You moron- what the hell have you been doing in class?"

"Chatting up Renetta Greene," James replied promptly. Seeing his friend's look of utter disbelief, he defended himself. "What? She's no easy catch! I won't have it said that I'm not prepared to put in that extra effort to woo a fair maiden."

"In McGonagall's class?" Remus asked in disbelief.

"Why not?" James' grin was wider than ever.

"How in the name of Merlin have you managed to get away with it?" he asked, somewhere between awe and disapproval.

James chuckled. "I can cast a pretty damn good silencing charm, though I do say so myself."

Remus shook his head.

"He casts a silencing charm good enough to fool McGonagall and can't pass Transfiguration…" the boy muttered to himself. Then his gaze hardened. Sitting straight up, he looked directly at James.

"James Potter," he said, glaring. "You are going to read every single one of these books." He jerked a thumb at the rather wonky pile of Transfiguration textbooks beside them on the dormitory table.

Standing up, he flicked his wand, sending the topmost tome thudding into James' chest. "Starting with that one."

Turning on his heel, he flung himself onto his bed, and the curtains shot closed.

* * *

A couple of hours later, the sun was just beginning to set when Remus drew back the curtain of his four-poster. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he looked across the room at James, still diligently studying.

"D'you think he's alright?" he asked quietly.

James looked up. "What?"

"Sirius." Remus paused, looking down at his feet. "D'you think he's alright? He should have been back hours ago, and it's beginning to get dark…"

James snorted. "Moony, he's out chasing rats. He's probably having so much fun he lost track of time. He always does- you know that."

Remus sighed. "I know. But…"

James groaned. Closing his book, he put his elbows on the table.

"Look, there's never anything in that forest that would attack him. Except for possibly you. And you're here." He grinned. "Happy?"

Standing, Remus walked over to the window, which was open to let in one of the few late June breezes that ruffled the still, hot air. Outside, the Forbidden Forest loomed dark and menacing.

"I guess…" He turned, leaning back, his elbows on the windowsill. "Besides," he pointed out, "as a werewolf, I'm only a danger to humans. Which you'd know, pumpkin-head, if you paid attention in lessons!"

"Hey!" retorted James, standing up. "I have no problems whatsoever with Defence Against the Dark Arts, as you know full well!"

"Yeah? Only because you're cribbing off me. Don't think I haven't noticed."

"Now, now ladies. Claws back in," came the amused voice of Sirius.

Turning, the others saw that he leaned against the doorframe in that irritatingly nonchalant way he liked so much.

"Sirius!" cried Remus, completely forgetting that he'd been about to jinx James.

"Hey, down boy!" grinned Sirius, walking into to the dormitory, and took a flying leap onto Remus' recently vacated bed.

"Come off it, Padfoot, that's my bed!" protested Remus, poking the irrepressible Black in the ribs with the handle of James' broom.

Sirius merely laughed. "You gonna make me, wolf-boy?" he growled.

"You know," James began, grinning in the way Remus had come to dread, "I never said that you wanting to leap on dear Blackie had anything to do with your allergy to moonlight…"

He gave a yelp and fled, slamming the door behind him just in time to deflect the book that had been aimed at his head.

Remus stood there fuming, a barely audible growl issuing from between clenched teeth, his face bright red. Sirius studied him, intrigued, from where he still lounged on Remus' bed, hands behind his head, one knee bent.

"Lovers' tiff?" he enquired, his voice full of concern, and his eyes widened as Remus turned on him.

"Don't you bloody start!" he snarled. "Just because you come on to anything within a two-mile radius, whether or not it's wearing a skirt, doesn't mean that everyone else does! I don't! I'm_ normal!_"

He gave a strangled cry, and fled from the room, crashing into James. They both landed in a heap on the floor, and Remus scrambled upright and fled.

James just sat there, watching the retreating form of his friend in amazement.

"Well, bugger me…" he muttered.

"I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you, Prongs," came Sirius' voice from the doorway.

James got up, turning.

"What the hell did you say to him, Sirius?" he asked, staring at him

Sirius shrugged. "Be damned if I know," he replied. Sitting down on his bed, he looked up at James, suddenly serious.

"To be honest," he said slowly, "I don't think he's been his normal self for a while now. He's twitchy. Nervous." He caught a look from James, grinned, and added, "More than normal, I mean. And he keeps staring into space all the time."

Walking over, James sat down on his own bed.

"D'you know, you could be right?" he agreed, "I caught him at it this afternoon. Completely out of it."

They sat in silence for a while, mulling it over. Suddenly James sat bolt upright, crying out,

"Eureka!"

Sirius grinned. "I can't smell that bad, I only had a shower half an hour ago."

James rolled his eyes. "Hah hah. No, seriously. He's in love.


	2. How to wind up your best friend

James rolled his eyes. "Hah hah. No, seriously. He's in love. When I snapped him out of his daydream today, I teased him about Mildred Blaine in Potions and he went bright red."

Sirius grimaced. "You might just have it. He's got the same dreamy look you get whenever someone mentions Lily Evans."

James smiled. "Ah, Evans…" he sighed. "One day, you _will_ be mine…"

"I rest my case!" laughed Sirius. "But I don't think he's got the hots for four-eyes Blaine."

James scowled. "And I had it all figured out so neatly, too," he complained. "All right, o wise one, why not?"

Sirius grinned at his friend's annoyance.

"Well, dunce, have you ever _watched_ him in Potions? He never even so much as glances in her direction, and that's pretty hard, seeing as he's sat right behind her."

James groaned, flinging himself back onto his bed.

"You've got an answer for everything, haven't you, Black?" he said morosely.

"Well," added Sirius, "if you actually sat next to him in Potions, you might have noticed."

James sat up slowly.

"I knew there had to be a reason I've been so damn bored lately…" he mused. Grinning, he explained. "We've had no new challenges for the Marauders!"

Light dawned on Sirius' irritatingly handsome visage.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, delighted. "We'll discover who Moony's mooning over!"

"And tease him unmercifully?" asked James, hopefully.

"'course!" laughed Sirius. "That goes without saying!"

It was now fully dark, and Remus lay curled up just inside the entrance to the Whomping Willow's secret tunnel. He'd cried- bitter tears of anger, frustration and shame- but now he lay still, finding the feel of the cool earth against his cheek oddly soothing.

Why did he find it so hard? So damn hard…

He'd sworn not to let it show. _Never_ to let it show.

Never to tell anyone…

He was enough of a freak already, he didn't need…that…not on top of everything else.

Remus sighed. Slowly sitting up, he hugged his knees, bowing his head.

That was how James and Sirius found him.

They both crawled in without speaking, and sat down opposite him. There was silence for a while, then James spoke.

"Peter's already asleep…"

Remus gave a short laugh, not looking up. "He could sleep for England, that kid." He smiled briefly.

"Sorry, Remus…" proffered Sirius, and it was so unlike him to use Remus' first name that the boy looked up, startled.

He saw Sirius' apologetic face dimly in the moonlight filtering through the tunnel entrance, and a golden glow started spreading through him.

Remus smiled.

"It's ok, Sirius. I should be the one apologising for being such an idiot. I guess I'm just not feeling very well today."

He stretched, and James grinned. "We good to go?" he asked.

Sirius looked at Remus.

"I don't know. Are we good to go, Moony?"

Remus laughed.

"Yes! Now let's get back before we're caught in the grounds after hours…"

"Ladies first," grinned Sirius, and fled through the hole between the roots as Remus swung a good-humoured punch at his head.

* * *

Throughout the entirety of the next week, James and Sirius tried to worm out of Remus just exactly who he was daydreaming about, but to no avail.

They tried **The Direct Approach**:

"So, who's this bird you've been mooning over?" asked James in the corridor between classed. Other than turning a nice patriotic Gryffindor red, Remus appeared not to hear.

"You pillock!" muttered Sirius, digging James in the ribs. "He's not exactly going to tell us, is he?"

James merely shrugged good-humouredly.

"Well, it was worth a shot…

**Subtle Allusions**:

"Is she pretty, Moony? 'Cause I'm looking for a new girlfriend." Again, from James.

Sirius was more **Circumspect**:

"Howe the hell are you doing so well in _everything_, Lupin? You've got to have a study partner, right?"

Remus looked at him oddly.

"Strangely enough, the last time I checked, I had three, you moron. Whet have you been doing in our study sessions, sleeping?"

James snorted. "And that works so much better than asking him straight. Oh, yes. All hail Padfoot, master of underhanded subtleties."

Peter looked oddly at James. "Asking him what?"

The boy grinned. "Oh, Moony's been slipping off into fairyland for hours at a time. We think he's drooling over some girl."

He was rewarded, as always, by a rather flushed-looking Remus, whose head snapped up from the daisy he was pulling apart.

"You're still picking at that? _Quit it_, Prongs! It's got nothing to do with a girl!"

James saw his chance.

"Oh yeah?" he countered. "Then you won't mind a little game of spin the goblet tonight…"

"_What?_" Remus squeaked, practically levitating a couple of inches.

Sirius grinned. "Well, we've got to get you some action somehow…"

Remus looked from grinning face to grinning face.

"I've got no choice, have I?" he asked weakly.

"None whatsoever," replied James happily.

* * *


	3. An unorthodox solution

That evening, the Marauders' dormitory was rather crowded. On top of the four of them, James and Sirius had managed to rope in some actual girls, including, Remus was amused to see, Lily Evans. And Renetta Greene, who seemed disposed to glare at the pretty redhead for the entire evening.

"Now, then," announced James, when they were all seated in a circle on the floor. "We all know the reason for this impromptu gathering: dear Remus, who hasn't had a decent shag in weeks." There was a ripple of laughter as Remus dug a rather vicious elbow into James' ribs. "I'm kidding! No, seriously, we decided that after many months of studying in such dismal heat, we deserve a bit of fun." He beckoned imperiously to Sirius. "Do you have the refreshments?"

"Indeed I do, o Master of Ceremonies," replied Sirius with aplomb, whipping the cover off a crate of butterbeer.

"Then let the festivities begin!" announced James, spreading his hands wide.

"Anyone for a game of Exploding Snap?" asked Sirius, brandishing a pack of cards. "The loser has to down a shot of that Grindylow Throat-throttler James thinks he's got hidden under his bed."

* * *

It was after midnight when James brought up the subject of Spin the Goblet, and they were all in various stages of inebriation. Peter was the worst, as he'd consistently lost every game of Exploding Snap, and was now in what could be described as a conscious coma.

"Good idea, Potter," said Lily, in answer to James' query. "We haven't done anything guaranteed to embarrass ourselves yet." She glanced at Peter. "Well, apart from Pettigrew, obviously," she added.

"Are we all agreed?" asked Sirius, looking around the circle. Remus caught his eye.

"Do I have to, Padfoot?" he pleaded.

"Yes, you do," replied Sirius unmercifully.

"Agreed!" came the chorus from around the circle.

James stood up, walked over to the table, and came back holding a simple pewter goblet, the kind used at mealtimes in the Great Hall. Taking his place in the circle once more, he held the goblet about three inches off the floorboards in the centre of the ring, and let go. It hung there, humming slightly.

"The rules are simple," he began. "We leave a space between each person in the circle. If your first spin lands on someone, you have to kiss them, no ifs, ands or buts. I put a charm on this thing, and if you don't do the deed within thirty seconds, both of you grow green pimples. If it lands on a space, you spin again. The second spin will always land on a person, who then has to think of a dare. All clear?"

And so the torture began. Remus managed to land a dare for his first spin. He could see it coming- Peter had to choose the punishment, and after a whispered conversation with Sirius, announced gleefully,

"Lupin, you are to howl ten times at the moon."

Remus growled at Sirius, who put on his best air of injured innocence, but complied with the dare. The rest of the Marauders doubled up with laughter, leaving the girls looking rather bewildered.

"James' first spin landed on Lily, who was, needless to say, furious.

"Potter, you bastard, you planned this whole thing!"

"And?" grinned James. "If you want green pimples…"

"Damn you, Potter…" she muttered.

Thirty seconds later, she looked a little more thoughtful.

"You know, for an absolute pillock, and don't argue, Potter," she added as James' mouth opened with a wounded expression, "that wasn't half bad."

Ten minutes later, after Peter, who ended up trying to balance an empty butterbeer bottle on his nose, it was Remus' turn once more. And this time, the goblet did land on someone…

"Well, well, well…" grinned Sirius.

Remus' jaw dropped open.

"No. Nuh-uh. No way," he said vehemently.

Sirius scowled at him.

"Now you know I can't go around with green pimples, Lupin. I'm practically an institution. The thought of me is what gets most of the female student population to the end of each day. Not to mention the male contingent."

"But…but…I can't…" stuttered Remus.

Sirius sighed.

"You moron. You don't have to do anything except come here. And if you don't," he added, "I'll hex you. I do not need green spots."

By now, Sirius was standing with his hands on his hips, tapping his foot impatiently and glaring at Remus.

Remus stood up slowly.

"Thirty seconds almost up…" cautioned James. "Five…four…three…two…"

Rolling his eyes, Sirius grabbed Remus, swinging him down into a full-blown, film-style kiss.

A moment later, however, he stiffened.

"Um…Prongs…" he ventured.

"Yuhuh?"

"I think he passed out…"

James just laughed.

"You're kidding!"

Then he looked at Remus, and his jaw dropped.

"You're not kidding…my god, Black, you actually snogged him senseless!" Shaking his head in disbelief, he gave Sirius a hearty slap on the back, which almost made him drop Remus. "You legend!"

Sirius ignored him. At the moment, he was more concerned about the recumbent werewolf in his arms. Picking him up, he laid Remus gently on his own bed.

"We ought to call it a night," came Lily's voice from behind him. She sounded concerned.

James shrugged. "Maybe you're right," he conceded, herding the girls out of the dormitory. Lily halted in the doorway.

"You'll tell me how he is when he wakes up?" she asked, smiling at him, and James nodded.

* * *


	4. Taking care of Remus

"We ought to call it a night," came Lily's voice from behind him. She sounded concerned.

James shrugged. "Maybe you're right," he conceded, herding the girls out of the dormitory. Lily halted in the doorway.

"You'll tell me how he is when he wakes up?" she asked. Smiling at him as hse left after the other two girls. James nodded.

Renetta, however, was not to be put off that easily. She gave a yawn.

"Oh, I'm so tired, I could just fall asleep right here…" she said pointedly, flopping down onto James' bed, who by now had had enough.

"Bugger off, Greene," he snapped. "Go find your own bed to sleep in."

She shot up like a rocket, and left in a huff.

James fell gratefully onto his bed, not bothering to undress. He looked over at Peter, who was already snoring.

Sirius, meanwhile, was checking Remus' pulse.

"I think I'll stay up and read, in case he wakes up…" he said distractedly.

James shrugged. "Your funeral," he said, turned over and promptly went to sleep.

Sirius found a chair and a book, and, satisfied that Remus was actually breathing, sat down by his friend's bed.

------------------------------

It was only about half an hour later that Remus did regain consciousness.

He blinked a couple of times, letting out an involuntary half-sigh, and Sirius looked up from the book he had been trying, unsuccessfully, to read.

"Remus?" he asid softly, leaning over.

Remus opened his eyes properly then, and his friend's concerned face swam inot view.

"Sirius…" he said, smiling. Then he remembered.

"Sirius!" he exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. Unfortunately, Sirius was still leaning over him, and their foreheads met with an audible crack.

"Ouch…damn it, Moony, was it really that bad?" moaned Sirius, wincing as he felt the bruise on his forehead. He squinted at Remus, who was sat up in bed, head in his hands. "I've got a reputation to uphold, you know."

"Hah…" Remus gave a soft, rather wry chuckle. "Actually…" he said slowly, "as kisses go, that wasn't a bad one." He looked down. " Not that I've, you know…" he trailed off.

"What?" asked Sirius quietly.

Remus looked away, saying almost inaudibly, "…not that I've had anything to compare it with…"

Sirius' jaw dropped.

"That…that was your first? God, moony…No wonder you passed out!"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Thanks ever so for reminding me," he said, with just a hint of sarcasm.

Sirius looked him straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry," he said simply. "Truly I am. If I'd known-"

"It's not your fault," said Remus, cutting him off. "I don't blame you. I blame James and that bloody goblet of his."

Sirius smiled wryly, putting a hand on Remus' shoulder.

"Seriously, though. Your first is supposed to be special. I'm sorry I took that away from you."

Remus looked up at his dark eyes… and felt that golden glow spreading inside him once more.

"I'm not…entirely sure that you did…" he said a little wonderingly.

A half-smile appeared on Sirius' lips. "I didn't?" he asked softly, and Remus realised that the hand which had been resting on his shoulder was now just as gently touching his cheek.

"…Sirius…?" he breathed, almost fearfully, but those lips smiled, and Sirius shook his head slowly.

"…just…let go…" he whispered, and Remus could feel the breath of those last words against his cheek.

-------------------------------------

A moment later, Remus was lying back on his bed, fingers interlocked behind his head, and Sirius sat cross-legged on the floor, with his back against Remus' bed.

"Well," commented Remus, "at least I was conscious for that one…"

Sirius shot him a wounded look. "What do you mean, 'at least', you ungrateful swine?" he demanded.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Oh, all right," he conceded. "Black, you are a god. That any better?"

Sirius nodded regally, turning so that he leaned with one elbow on the bed to look at Remus. "Getting better."


	5. Scars in the night

Remus sat up, rested his chin in his hands, elbows on his knees, and regarded Sirius thoughtfully.

"Sirius," he asked slowly, "when that goblet landed on you…knowing full well that that was the first time I'd ever snogged a guy…"

He paused, and Sirius raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Yes?" he prompted.

"…did you have to ram your tongue down my throat?"

Sirius gave a short laugh and grinned. "You complaining, wolf-boy?"

Now it was Remus' turn to grin. "Not exactly…" he admitted. "But still," he added swiftly, glaring at the smirking boy, " It was a shock to the system."

"Then I apologise. "However," he added, raising a finger, "In my defence, I didn't tell a soul that just before you passed out, you were kissing back."

As Remus gaped at him, that mischievous glint, the one that Remus had come to dread, appeared in his eye.

"And it would not have been hard, considering the fact that you were unconscious."

Remus finally found his voice.

"You're kidding… I wouldn't…I'd …never…Did I really?"

"How do you think I knew you felt the same way?" He smiled. "Moony, I know you. Everything means something. You're not like me- if you hadn't felt anything for me, you'd have been passive. You would have let me do all the work, and just longed for it to be over and done with." He sobered. " You don't know how long I was waiting for that to happen…" he said softly.

Remus blinked. "How…long?"

Sirius smiled. "About a year, all told." He paused for a moment, and then continued. "You have no idea just how damned cute you are, do you?" he asked amusedly.

Remus went bright red, let out something that sounded somewhere between an incredulous laugh and choking.

"I mean, the way you growl when you're angry…and don't look at me like that, you know you do…the way you always have ink on your fingers, and chew the end of your quill when you're thinking what to write next… but I always thought you were straight as a die. It's why I never made a move."

At that, Remus laughed. "Pads! It's not like you to worry about making a fool of yourself."

Sirius smiled wryly. "You know, we've got a lot to thank James for."

Remus growled. "Do not mention that fiend…him and his bloody goblet."

Sirius looked at him wonderingly, shaking his head.

"God, you're hot when you do that," he said, and dived on him.

"Hey-" cut in Remus- or tried to, at any rate. Sirius was pressing his suit rather too vehemently for anything to emerge other than "Hmuphm". Remus managed to manoeuvre his hand to Sirius' forehead, using it to lever the dark boy off him. It wasn't actually that hard- he was quite a lot stronger.

"What's up, Moony?" asked Sirius, looking down at him with an intoxicatingly feral grin.

Remus looked up, and into his eyes. Properly.

"This is serious, isn't it?"

"No doubt about it." And he didn't even pick up on the usual pun, which was how Remus knew that he really did mean it.

"But…" and here Remus' voice dropped to a whisper, "I can't…can't tell the others. Not yet…"

Sirius smiled, and he shifted his balance slightly, leaving his left hand free to gently caress Remus' cheek.

"You don't have to," he murmured reassuringly, "and neither will I, if you don't want me to." He leaned down, kissing Remus softly on the cheek. "We'll keep this between ourselves…for as long as you need to."

Remus smiled properly now, and Sirius continued.

"I know this has to be hard for you…"

Remus gave a short laugh.

"…but I'm here, remember? I'm part and parcel. I'll always be here for you."

Remus blinked hard- his treacherous eyes had filled with tears. His thoughts cursed him- he never cried, and twice in one week…but Sirius smiled, slipping a comforting hand under Remus' back… and under his shirt. As Remus realised this, he stiffened suddenly.

Pushing Sirius away, he swung his legs off the bed, and sank his head into his hands,

"Moony?" asked Sirius softly, sounding concerned. "If you…I don't want to take this anywhere you're uncomfortable…"

Remus said nothing, but Sirius saw a tear slip thorough his fingers.

"Remus?" he added, and, sitting behind the boy, he put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

A half-stifled sob escaped Remus' lips.

"I can't."

It was so quiet that Sirius almost thought he'd imagined it.

"What?" he asked, almost fearfully.

"I can't…" Remus repeated, and as he turned towards Sirius, the other boy saw tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm a werewolf, Sirius. A bloody _werewolf_… How could I even think of being in a relationship? I just…"

He trailed off, suddenly aware that Sirius' expression had set hard.

"Sirius…?" he ventured, but was completely unprepared for his friend's reaction.

Fury.

Cold, hard fury.

"Just like that?" Sirius hissed, and Remus could tell he was fighting not to snarl. "Just like that? You give me a taste, one glorious taste, of what could be, and you take it away? JUST LIKE THAT?"

Remus opened his mouth to answer, but Sirius leapt off the bed, striding to the window before he could say a word.

"Sirius? I…" He faltered. "God, Sirius, you don't understand…" he finished desperately.

"Try me," spat Sirius, staring forcefully out of the window at the dark night and the forest beyond the glass. His knuckles whitened on the windowsill, and Remus could tell he was longing for something to hit. Something to hit hard.

Remus stood up slowly, trying to wipe away the tears that were drying on his cheeks, and cursed himself for being so weak.

The reason he had flinched when he felt Sirius' hand on his bare skin…and yes, he thought, oh yes…it had felt so good…the reason was that he had remembered.

Remus had remembered why he never went swimming in the lake, why, even on the hottest summer days, he never removed his shirt. Why, even now, he couldn't change clothes with the other boys in the room.

He bit his lip.

The scars…those scars…every one was a reminder. A reminder of pain, horror…from those nights. Every month, shut up away from the world. Alone…always alone…and feeling himself change.

Sirius probably wasn't even aware that he'd brushed one of them.

It wasn't the transformation he feared most. No. It was knowing that the wolf was inside him. When he changed, and the wolf began to surface, it was as though he looked out through a window on the world. Imprisoned in his own skull, he watched, and could never influence it, painful as it was to witness.

The wolf took over, and Remus could only watch helplessly…

And he could never speak of it. Not a word…ever…

He closed his eyes.

"Go on," he said quietly.

"What?" came Sirius' voice, almost inaudibly, though the boy continued staring out into the night.

"Go on." Remus took a deep breath, and continued. "Hit me. I know you want to. It'll help. I'll tell Pomfrey I collided with a door."

He saw Sirius' shoulders twitch for a moment, then the boy span around, his fist lashing out, and Remus staggered, his hand going to his face. He touched his eyes gingerly, and winced. Glancing up at Sirius, he saw the horrified look on the other boy's face.

"God…Moony, I'm so sorry. I never meant… God, Moony…"

"Its…its all right…" Remus managed to say. "I said you could."

"You're going to have a right black eye there," muttered Sirius wryly, touching a hand under Remus' chin to lift his face. Looking into his eyes, he sobered.

"Moony…Remus…I need you," he murmured, almost pleadingly.

The look in his eyes was too much for Remus to bear.

But…he was a werewolf. Could he ever truly-

"Oh, fuck-" he muttered, kissing Sirius.

As Sirius' arms slid slowly around his waist, Remus could feel him smiling. Then those lips opened against his, and…and…

…Sirius tasted…sweet. But not quite…almost…hot…like cinnamon…

Then Remus laughed inwardly at himself for being nonsensical. What Sirius really tasted of was shepherd's pie.

Which was no surprise, really, seeing as that was what they'd had for dinner.

Remus' favourite, as it happened.

"Hoi," cut in Sirius, breaking off the kiss for a moment. "Stop grinning to yourself, and come here…"

* * *

Remus awoke slowly- someone was shaking his shoulder.

"Moony, wake up, you're going to be late for breakfast…" James tailed off as Remus turned over, blinking owlishly at his bespectacled friend.

"Bloody hell, Moony, what happened to your eye?"

Remus sat up with a jolt. So it hadn't been a dream…He looked over James' shoulder to see Sirius, who was already dressed, and grinning rather sheepishly.

"That? Oh…um…hahah. I …er…collided with a doorknob. I tripped…" he explained lamely.

"Right," said James slowly, not quite believing him. Shaking his head, he left the room, following the unspoken rule that Remus always changed alone. The other two took his lead, and Remus was left to himself. He sighed, getting out of his pyjamas and pulling on his trousers.

But then, for the first time ever, the door opened again. It was Sirius, and Remus flushed red. He swiftly pulled his shirt over his head, but not in time to avoid the sharp intake of breath as Sirius saw the tracery of scars that covered his body. As Remus stood up, he deliberately avoided Sirius' gaze, shrugging on his robes.

"We'll be late for breakfast," he muttered, trying to leave, but Sirius stood firm in the doorway, stubbornly refusing to move.

"Not before I take you to the hospital wing. You can't go around looking like half a panda all day." That enigmatic trace of a smile quirked his lip as he surveyed his friend.

Remus couldn't help but grin.

"Half a panda? You know, that could be taken as an insult, were it not quite so ridiculous. All right, I'll go and see Pomfrey."

Gallantly, Sirius stepped aside, with a chivalrous "Ladies first." On seeing Remus' glare, however, he held up a placating hand. "Only kidding!"

"You'd better be," growled Remus, and recognised the look on Sirius' face just in time to dive out of the way. Sirius was not, however, blessed with such quick reactions, and hit his head on the bedpost that had been behind Remus. Remus was now, however, behind the bedpost, and Sirius blinked at him pleadingly, rubbing his forehead.

"No," said Remus firmly. "Not before breakfast." Steeling himself against the puppy dog eyes that were Sirius' last resort when wheedling him around (generally to let him copy his History of Magic essays), he glared at the boy.

"No! I mean it, Sirius. We haven't got the time."

Sirius looked downcast. "But after breakfast, we've got Potions… we can't be late for another lesson, not after last time. Slughorn threatened to make us test Wormtail's Polyjuice Potion the next time, and it was purple and bubbled… God only knows what it'd turn us into…please, Moony?"

It was hard to resist those eyes…oh, so hard- but Remus managed it.

"No," he said firmly. "You'll just have to wait."

* * *

But making Sirius wait, as Remus soon discovered, had its downside. When lunchtime rolled around, the minute Remus was out of the classroom, his shoelaces mysteriously untied themselves and tripped him up.

As he knelt down to re-tie them, he was sure he could see Sirius stowing away his wand in his sleeve. As soon as he straightened up, the corridor being empty by that time, he found himself being dragged by the scruff of his robes into the nearest broom-cupboard and slammed up against the back wall.

"Remus?" breathed Sirius in his ear, "Don't ever make me wait."


	6. Windows and waterbombs

It was about a week later that James picked up on their frequent absences. It was normal for Remus to hole himself up somewhere and study without the frequent distractions of their dormitory or the Gryffindor common room- but Sirius was now nowhere to be found during their normal Marauding hours, and James found that a little worrying. He'd had his suspicions after the Goblet Incident, as it was now referred to, but hadn't voiced them, preferring to bide his time.

* * *

Friday evening rolled around, and Remus had the dormitory window open, leaning his elbows on the sill and breathing in that delicious twilight scent. The door opened behind him, and a moment later he felt a pair of arms slide around his waist.

"Hey, Pads," he said contentedly.

"Got you, Moony," came James' voice in his ear, and Remus jumped so much he almost fell out of the window.

"SHIT!" He turned to see the satisfied smirk on James' face.

"Knew it. I knew something was going on with you two. What, you thought I wouldn't notice?" James snorted incredulously. "I know Pettigrew's as unobservant as a tree stump, but I thought you'd both give me a bit more credit than that."

Then he noticed the stricken expression on Remus' face, who looked like he was about to hyperventilate.

"What's up?"

Remus gaped at him.

"You're…ok with it?" he managed, and James laughed.

"Yeah, it's fine! A bit weird," he admitted, "but go for it. You do sort of balance each other out. To be quite honest…" he continued, sitting down on his bed, "I've had a vague idea it was Sirius you were loopy about for a while. You know the goblet?"

Remus nodded, sitting down on his own bed.

"Did you never wonder how I got my spin to land on Lily?"

Remus raised an enquiring eyebrow. "You put… more into that charm than you told us?" he hypothesised slowly.

James nodded. "It'll land on whoever you're in love with. I wanted to find out for sure." Then he grinned. "And, I'll admit, I also wanted the chance to get with Evans!"

He ducked as Remus threw a pillow at him, then grinned, pushing up his glasses from where they'd slipped down the bridge of his nose.

"You're an utter bastard, Potter," Remus said without rancour. Then his lip twisted with worry. "You won't tell Peter, will you?"

"What? Why n- Oh. Kevin Smithson?"

Remus nodded. Smithson was a fifth year who'd all but stalked Sirius the previous autumn. Peter had reacted particularly badly to the attentions his friend had received.

"He avoids the poor guy like the plague… All right. I won't tell him. I'd dread to see that look on his face!"

Just then, the door burst open, and Sirius bounded in, dripping wet and shaking his hair out of his eyes.

"What happened to you?" asked James, grinning.

"Several of Peeves' water bombs," quoth the drowned Sirius, and Remus laughed.

"You dare to ridicule my plight, and I shall shake water all over you, Lupin."

"Do your worst, Black," responded the boy, and Sirius leaped at him. Remus yelped, rolling out of the way, and fell off his bed, whereupon Sirius promptly pinned him to the floor.

"I should think you'd at least have the courtesy to wait until I'm out of the room, Sirius," commented James laconically from his vantage point on his bed.

Sirius looked at James oddly, then stared at Remus, who was grinning up at him.

"He knows?"

"Have done for at least a week," confirmed James. "I'm assuming this charming liaison came about when Lupin swooned in your arms last Friday?"

"I did not swoon!" objected Remus hotly, but Sirius grinned.

"Oh, come on, Moony, he's not freaking out, is he?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Not right now, but he will if you're thinking what I suspect you're thinking," he warned.

"Awww!" Sirius moaned. "I just want to see the look on his face. Please?"

Remus looked up at him thoughtfully. Raising up a hand, he brushed a few loose strands of black hair behind Sirius' ear.

"No," he said regretfully. "Much as I would love to, he might tell Wormtail."

Sirius grinned, but looked up as James jumped off his bed.

" 'He' is leaving you to it, Moony," their friend said as he left the room, laughing.

"Well," murmured Sirius, "He took it well, didn't he? I presume he guessed?"

"Yes. Well, I'd never tell him, would I? He said- ahh… Sirius, what are you…ah…what are you doing?"

"Kissing your neck," answered Sirius. "Got a problem with that?"

"Um…no…ahh…God, no…ah...definitely no problem…"

Remus' breathing quickened, and he could feel his heart pounding beneath his ribs. The touch of Sirius' lips on his neck sent shivers down his spine, and when he drew away, Remus looked up at him with undisguised longing.

"Don't stop…"

Sirius' lip quirked upwards as he said, "This room may be warm enough for you, but my robes are soaked in cold water." Standing up, he shrugged off his robes and, due to the fact that it was also sodden, pulled his shirt over his head.

Leaning on his elbows, Remus looked up at Sirius. His black hair curled wet around his face, just brushing his shoulders, and a hint of stubble outlined his jaw, his mouth set in that inscrutable half-smile. Sirius reached down, a hand out-stretched, and Remus let himself be pulled to his feet.

"You know, it's at times like these," he said thoughtfully, "that I realise just why half the school is crazy over you."

Sirius shook his head. "Why you always feel the need to talk is beyond me…" he said, and gave Remus an extremely good excuse to remain silent.

As Remus found his hand twining itself through Sirius' hair, he was incredibly aware of the single layer of thin cotton between them both- his own robes were neatly hung over his bedstead, unlike Sirius' in the sodden heap in the corner. And Sirius' skin was so warm… His free hand ran slowly up Sirius' spine, and Remus felt him shiver agreeably before he fell back onto Remus' bed, pulling the other boy with him.

Remus found himself looking down at Sirius for once, and smiled. "You do realise," he murmured, lowering his head to Sirius' ear, "I could have bitten your tongue off just then?"

Sirius chuckled. "We'd have a job explaining that to Pomfrey." He leaned forward, running the tip of his tongue along the edge of Remus' ear, who gasped, his hand tightening involuntarily on Sirius' back, and sought Sirius' mouth with his own.

Sirius sighed contentedly, lying back against Remus' pillow.

"Lupin, for a beginner, you're pretty damned good at this."

"A beginner!" Remus cried indignantly, propping himself up on his elbow as he turned to glare at Sirius.

Sirius grinned at him. "My dear Remus, I would know if you'd had any girlfriends."

"And what makes you think I'd tell you?"

"You wouldn't need to. I'd be able to tell," countered Sirius confidently. "Quite apart from the fact that you told me yourself I was the first person you ever kissed.

And you completely ignored that compliment. I don't dish them out like jelly-beans, you know."

"Gosh, you're right." Remus smiled. "And from the connoisseur himself. I must be good."

Sirius laughed. "Aren't you going to return the favour?"

Remus turned onto his side, studying the boy next to him.

"Very well," he said slowly. "You are the most vain, self-absorbed, conceited person I know. And the most damned beautiful." His thumb stroked Sirius' cheekbone, and Remus kissed him softly, adding almost inaudibly, "…and I love you…"

And then Remus found himself being hugged so tightly he could barely breathe. He heard Sirius' voice say, muffled,

"…don't ever leave me…"

Remus laughed softly.

"How could I?"

He flicked his wrist, and his wand slid out of his sleeve into his hand. Giving it a swift wave, his bed curtains slid closed.

As he rolled over Sirius to put his wand on the bedside table, the boy caught him around the waist.

"What on earth are you doing?

Remus smiled down at him.

"Well, I don't want it to get broken, do I?"

He sat up, his knees either side of Sirius' hips.

Sirius shook his head in amazement.

"Lupin, you bloody prefect, you're still wearing your tie…"

"Oh, God yes…why the hell…"

Remus loosened it with a finger and pulled it over his head, undoing his collar.

"Better?" he enquired.

Sirius nodded lazily. "Much better. Now come here," he added, "I can't be bothered to move."

Remus laughed. "Yes, master. I live to serve." Lowering himself down onto his elbows, he found that his nose was an inch from Sirius', which he bit affectionately.

"Now that I like the sound of," murmured Sirius. "Though I must reprimand you, slave. Don't bite your master like that. His nose is too shapely to be molested."

"Ah, how can this unworthy one gain your forgiveness?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," grinned Sirius, and Remus recognised the glint in his eye.


End file.
